Charles mills



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 1y C. MILLS. PHOTOGRAPHIG CAMERA.

No. 458,128. Patented Aug. 18 1891.

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C. MILLS. JeHoToGrIuxPJfIm CAMERA. No. 458,128. Patented Aug. 18, 1891. f-g'.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES MILLS, OF NEV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE E. rb H. T. ANTHONY da COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 458,128, dated August 18, 1891.

Application filed February 24, 1891. Serial No. 382,616. (No model.)

T0 al? whom t may concern.' for holding the box G in the upper part of Be 1t known that I, CHARLES MILLS, a subthe camera when it is elevated. Ject of the Queen of Great Britaiinandaresi- M is a pad of any suitable material. It

dent of New York city, in the county of New may be fastened to the front end of the can1 5 5 5 York' and State of New York, have invented era, or to the box G, as preferred. Its side tocertain new and useful Improvements in Phoward the interior of the box is preferably artographic Cameras, of which the following is ranged on a bevel, as shown, to conform to a' SPeClC'fltOU- that of the ledge I.

My invention relates to improvements in N N are two frames equal in length to the 6o lo photographic cameras; and it consists, generwidth of the sides of the camera, but of less ally stated, in the addition to the camera of width. They are detachably attached to the certain devices whereby the necessity for a sides of the camera by buttons O O O O. dark-room is done away with, also means P P are strips of molding or other suitable whereby anydesirednumberof plates,whether means whereby the edges of conically-shaped 6 5 I5 exposed or not exposed, maybe carried in the bags P P of flexible light-excluding matecamera protected from the light, and also derial-such as bellows-clotl1-aie fastened to vices whereby the camera may be collapsed the frames N N. At the small ends of these for more convenient transportation. two conical bags, which, as shown, are ar- Figure l illustrates a vertical section on a ranged on opposite sides of the camera, are 7o 2o line at right angles to the axis of the lens what I term wristlets Q Q. They are narand on the line r of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 Aillusrow bands of material-such as rubber, wood, trates a vertical section on a line through or metal-and maybe elastic,it desired. They the lens and ground glass or sensitive plate are of such size as to easily admit a mans and on the line g/g/ of Fig. l, showing also in hand, and their interior surface is heavily 75 25 dotted lines the position of the cover for the lined with some black, or at least dark, ma-

storage chamber when opened and of the terial R, such as dyed lambs wool or the like. plate-chamber when dropped; also show- This material projects almostto the center of ing in dotted lines the position assumed by the wristlets, so that when the hand is inthe parts when inthe act of collapsing. Fig. serted it closes about the wrist and com- Se 3o 3 illustrates a side elevation of the camera pletely excludes light.

partly broken away and showing the method S S are what I term pockets.77 They are of bringing the parts together so that they bags preferably of flexible material adapted may collapse, and also showing` the means for to easily contain a mans hand, and at their confining the pocket-frames to the side of the inner ends or bottom parts there are attached 8 5 3 5 camera. Fig. Il illustrates the camera as eolordinary fish-mouthed or purse frames T T, lapsed. except that the device whereby one of them A A is the frame proper of the camera. It at least is held shut arranged to be manipumay be made of such material as preferred. lated from the inside of the pocket, as seen B is a little door which extends across the at V, Fig. l. The other one,as shown at V, 9o 4o front lower part of the camera and opens into Fig. l, may be manipulated from the exterior, a chamber O, which has a hinged cover D, as usual. They are of such size as to allow the confined by a hasp E. passage of a mans hand.

F is a removable back board. \V is a rabbeted ledge for the support of G is a box occupying the upper part o'l' the the lower edge of the ground glass or sensi- 95 45 camera. It is hinged at II, and has a Vfront tive plate, as the case may be, and Z is a piece or ledge I, placed at an angle, as shown. spring-hook, the face of the hook being on J is a false front rigidly attached to the top the same plane as the rabbet on the ledge.

of the camera. a a a are the several paper or other boxes I( is a spring attached to the under side of in which dry plates are received from the rop 5o the box G. n'ianufacturer. As well known, they are re- L L are hasps of any suitable construction versely mated into each other to exclude the light, the seam or joint of the outer one being sealed light-tight by a strip of paper pasted over it.

d a, the., are the plates.

b b b b are hinges by which the several parts of the frame are hinged together and whereby it may be collapsed, as hereinafter set forth. They (the hinges) are of course in each instance arranged in pairs.

c c are springs to press the platesor ground glass into the proper focal position as used in such structures.

All the parts of the camera at which a joint occurs through which light might enter are preferably made light-tight by padding or by rabbets. (Not shown.) The lens is of course attached in any suitable manner to the front of the box opposite the ground glass.

The operation is as follows: The box containing the dry plates just as it comes from the manufacturer is first adapted to be opened by cutting the strip of paper all around. It is then passed through the little door I3 into the chamber C in the bottom of the camera. This chamber I will call the storage-chamber. The door B is then closed and fastened. The hands are then introduced through the wristlets Q, into the pockets S, the lambs wool making light-tight connection at the wrists. The fish-mouth frame T, which has its lock on the inside, is then opened and the hand thrust through it, and by it the other fish-mouth frame is opened, and the other hand is then likewise thrust through it. Thus both hands are on the inside of the camera, and no light has entered it or can enter it. The operator then manipulates the device on the interior of the camera, and also the camera itself, as follows,being aided in so doing` by the flexible character of the conical bags Il which afford him freedom of movement: IIe lifts the cover D of the storagechamber and catches it under the spring K, so that it is held elevated, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. I-Ie then picks up the boxes of plates and, removing them one by one, nests them into each other again instead of having them within each other reversely. In otherwords, he arranges them as shown in Fig. 2 instead of being, as they originally were, as shown in Fig. l. IIe then lifts all of the plates out from the innermost box a and leans them up against the ground-glass plate or some other suitable place. Then he shuts the cover D, and then, pressing the latches L L, lowers the upper box or chamber G (which I will call the platechamber into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and then places all the plates in that box, the inclined ledge I of which causes them to assume an offset position relative to cach other, so that they can be easily removed from the box, the iingers of the operator easily distinguishing and utilizing the projecting upper edge of the outermost plate. Now to malte an exposure he takes one of the plates and places it on the irabbet W and swings its upper edge rear wardly until it catches under the hooi;A Z, and then elevatcs the box G- again out of the way. The focus has of course been already determined and thel subject found by a finder or otherwise and the shutter operated by squeezing the bulb in the usual manner. The bulb of course is or maybe located within the camera, that it may be grasped by the hand of the operator. The picture being taken, the plate is removed and deposited in the storage-chamber C by lifting its cover, as before. The plate-chamber is then again lowered and a new plate put in position ready for another exposure. This operation is repeated until all the plates have been exposed. They are then removed by being again placed in the boxes, arranged reversely or otherwise, as desired, depending upon whether they are to be removed from the camera in a dark-room or not. IVhile withdrawing thehands from the pockets care should be observed to first close the fish-mouths T. To collapse the camera the side frames N N are unbuttoned and are removed and placed crosswise within the frame. It is then pushed over, after the fashion of a pair of parallel rules, into the position shown in Fig. el, the side frames N N be* ing accommodated bya set-eff in the location of the hinges l) l), tine., as shown.

I do not limit myself to the details of construction shown, because alterations may be made therein and still the essentials of the invention be employed, and itis obvious that provision may be made for the insertion of one hand only within the came `a, if preferred.

I claim- 1. A camera having a light-tight platechamber and a light-tight storage-chamber each adapted to be opened from the interior of the camera, and means whereby the hand of the operator may be inserted to the inten rior of the camera without admitting light, substantially as set forth.

2. In a camera, interiorly-loca-tcd receptacles or places for the exposed and unexposed plates, and means whereby the hand of the operator may be passed to the interior of the camera without admitting light, substantially as set forth.

3. In a camera, interiorly-located receptacles or places for the exposed and unexposed plates, and a iiexible side for the camera provided with means for the passage of the hand through it and for excluding the light, substantially as set forth.

a. A camera having a storage-chamber accessible from the interior and exterior of the camera and a plate-chamber accessible from the interior of the camera only, substantially as set fort-h.

5. A camera having sides made of flexible material, a pocket arranged therein through which the hand may be inserted to the inte* rior of the camera, provided with means to exclude the light, and a storage-chamber and IOO IOS

IIO

plate-chamber both accessible from the interior of the camera, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, in a camera, of a storage-chamber provided with a door conneotin g with the exterior of the camera and having a movable cover, and a hinged plate-chamber adapted to move bodily on its hinges and means to hold it in position when closed, substantially as set forth.

7. A camera having a separate box or receptacle for the plates at its upper and lower parts and removable frames at its sides, which sustain fiexible panels, provided with means for the insertion of the hand of the operator without admitting light, and means, such as hinges, placed on the frame of the camera between the said boxes, whereby the camera may be folded or collapsed, substantially as set forth.

S. A camera having a box for the reception of the plates opening both to the interior of the camera and to the exterior thereof, and another box for the same purpose opening to the interior of the camera only, and frames which sustain flexible sides provided with pockets having light-excluding devices at their ends, and means to sustain the plates in proper focal position adapted to be operated from the interiorof the camera, substantially as setforth.

Signed at New York,'in the county of New York and State of New York, this 20th day of February, A. D. 1891.

CHARLES MILLS.

Witnesses:

PHILLIPS ABBOTT, J. E. HOFFMAN. 

